Global Gaming Disputes Spelinspektionen's License Revoking Decision, Announces an Appeal

Swedish gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, has revoked Global Gaming's license following the discovery of “serious deficiencies in business practices,” among which are anti-money laundering failures and omissions in relation to protecting vulnerable players.

The under-fire operator has since provided an update on the matter, stating that they will file an official complaint and appeal against this decision which resulted in stripping off their iGaming license in this Nordic country.

Serious Charges

What Spelinspektionen sees as the number one concern is that...

...the operator of sites such as Ninja Casino “failed to introduce effective player protection controls and anti-money laundering processes.” All of this contributed to a violation of Sweden's gambling regulations in such a measure that the regulator had no choice but to resort to the strictest punishment.

In their official statement, Global Gaming admits that, while they will comply with the decision and cease their operations in this market if necessary, they will still dispute the ruling.

The dialogue between the two parties is currently happening as the operator tries to understand the “operational shortcomings” that led to this.

Understanding What Went Wrong

Acting chief executive, Tobias Fagerlund's, official statement reads:

“The information this morning from [Spelinspektionen] was unexpected as the company was under the impression that we are compliant with the regulations which the new legislation has set for gaming operators in Sweden. That they have come to this decision is odd.”

Fagerlund, who replaced Joacim Moller in April, added:

“We will of course appeal the decision and have good reasons to believe that we will be successful. That the license now have been revoked lacks legal grounds and comprises disproportionate action which will cause the company significant damage.”

Global's legal advisors were under the impression that they have fulfilled all the criteria for license securing that was requested of them. Their solicitors are adamant that revocation of license is “unjustified.”

Breach of Bonus Rules is Not Tolerated

Whatever the outcome of Global Gaming's appeal turns out to be...

...Spelinspektionen continues to force operators to abide by their rules and regulations, especially those that relate to bonus rules and policies. In early June, they fined AG Communications Limited and Genesis Global Limited for offering more than one-time bonuses to new customers.

AG Communications was ordered to pay up SEK500,000, while Genesis needs to cash out SEK1.7 million per reprimand.

The regulator's official statement regarding this case was:

“As the Spelinspektionen already had indications at the beginning of the year that some gaming companies did not comply with the legislation, on February 19, the authorities issued a letter to all licensees regarding bonus offers. After the letter, the Gaming Inspectorate noted some compliance from the licensees, but the assessment is that further measures must also be taken to achieve full compliance.”

Source:

“Global Gaming to appeal Swedish license revocation”, igamingbusiness.com, June 17, 2019.